Types of White Marbles

buildiva22April 15, 2013

I have always thought that for white marbles, the two most popular choices are Calcutta (Calcutta gold, also the most expensive) or Carrera (or it is called Bianco sometimes?). As I am researching for "white" marble online, I come across more different terms and would like to see if any one in this forum can explain the differences.

Calcutta (more white than Carrera with less vein)?
Carrera or Bianco seems to have more grey to me.
Statutory/Statutoria Marble
Bianca Dolomitti Marble
Thassos Marble (pure white without vein)

Ideally, I am looking for a "White" marble with little bit greyish vein (but not too much). Calcutta could have been the choice but it is also the top of the price range so I want to see if there are alternatives. Carrera/Bianco has a mix of white and grey but I am worried it will look too grey for the whole floor after it's installed.

People have suggested caeserstone (quartz) since it's more durable but I am not sure if that can be used as floor stone.

I'm assuming your search is geared for potential countertops based on the stones specified?

Your right in Calacatta being the priciest. Calacatta has a whiter background with bolder gray veins and highways.

There is a wide variety of Carrara in the market right now, i've been running into some beautiful slabs and some awful ones. Carrara tends to have heavy movement of gray veins, for the most part - very small veins and markings.

Statuario is actually a type of Carrara. Many consider Statuario to be a stone option between Calacatta and Carrara. It doesn't have as much movement as many Carraras.

Bianco Dolomiti is a pretty stone, predominantly white with light gray veining. The veining is usually horizontal and has consistant pattern (unlike the aforementioned stones whose veins have no sense of direction). The veining is subtle, but enough to make a statement.

My foe. Thassos. As beautiful as it can be, the bad outweighs the good. I've worked with Thassos on NUMEROUS jobs and always find myself giving it a second chance but it seems to get the best of me each time around. There are supposedly three types of Thassos on the market, lets name it A-B-C types. The A is considered to be flawless and very expensive, the C would be spottier and less expensive. The problem i've encountered with Thassos is that clients are informed that it is a pure white marble, which it could be, BUT even the slightest natural marking in the stone stands out heavily. If you don't mind the beauty of mother nature potentially showing up in your 'pure white' stone, then you may be a fan of it.

Reading up on your initial post, I now realize your seeking material for floors. Out of the stones you've specified, as a contractor i'd approve Calacatta, Carrara, Statuario & Dolomiti for floor installations. I'd steer away from Thassos unless you have minimal traffic & understand and could live with what I wrote above. Caesarstone is only sold by the slab, therefore it wouldn't be an option for flooring.

Another option you can look into is a 'White Pearl'. It comes in tile format, usually 16' x 16' from many suppliers i've used. It is predominantly white with a light crisp onyx gray hint to it.

Giancarlo, you are clearly a professional (you've spelled the names of the marbles correctly, bless you ) and I don't doubt your judgement for a second but good God man, Thassos is so beautiful it was used to build the Agia Sophia cathedral, among other beautiful buildings and statues of antiquity. No wonder you (and your clients) keep choosing it. It's not the marble that is your foe, but the ignorant client that expects the stone to be white Corian. By all means steer them away - More Thassos for those of us who can appreciate it!!

Thank you Giancarlo! You are such a great help! Your explanation is very helpful! There are definitely different Ã¢ÂÂspellingsÃ¢ÂÂ for those marble terms online, good to know the right way to spell them. =)

In our new build, we have set our mind on Calacatta for counter top but now I may be considering Statuario since itÃ¢ÂÂs slightly cheaper than Calacatta. I should probably get a sample since from online, I almost think it looks the same as Calacatta. We will be using marble for our foyer entry and this is the one that we still havenÃ¢ÂÂt made up our mind. We definitely love the look of Calacatta because it has less vein (less busy looking?) so the entire flooring will appear Ã¢ÂÂwhiterÃ¢ÂÂ but would want to go with a cheaper option that will give the closest look! The Carrara seems to be too Ã¢ÂÂgreyÃ¢ÂÂ and has too more Ã¢ÂÂveinÃ¢ÂÂ that we are looking for. I do wish we have the option to pick out just the Ã¢ÂÂwhiterÃ¢ÂÂ carrara tiles with less vein but they will be come one shipment from the dealer unfortunately so this is not an option for us.

I am afraid I may not be following you on Thassos marble for floor, so Thassos isnÃ¢ÂÂt really just pure white marble? Do you mind explaining more? We considered using that for foyer but the sample tile that we saw, itÃ¢ÂÂs really just plain white. That could be a perfect choice if it actually has tiny little vein! =)

I have not heard of Ã¢ÂÂwhite pearlÃ¢ÂÂ but will do some research about it. Thanks so much for all of your info!!